“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast if from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:29

There is a group of people who keep everything they own locked up in small mud rooms. All of their possessions including shoes, clothes and radios are hidden from everyone.

I didn’t know this when I moved into the community to set up a health program for the people, I unpacked all my belongings. I put the dishes and pans in the cupboard, pens and notebooks in the desk, and linens in the closet.

My first visitors arrived and headed straight toward the cupboards. They opened doors and took out containers. After examining them, they put them back in the wrong place.

I was shocked by their rude behavior and asked, “What are you looking for?”

“We’re not looking for anything. We want to know everything you have.”

“Why?”

“It’s our culture.”

A few days later I visited several church folks. In the deacon’s house, I was surprised at the lack of possessions. He had four lopsided wooden benches and two broken-down chairs. On the opposite side of the living room was a door padlocked shut.

Having all sorts of visions of what was on the opposite side of the door, I kept glancing at it.

The deacon’s wife said, “I’m sorry I have nothing for you to examine.”

“I didn’t come here to inspect your property. Why do people in your village do this?”

“We are greedy and want what we shouldn’t have. If someone sees something that she doesn’t have and wants it, she may ask you for it. It is cultural to give it to her. So we keep all our possessions locked up in a room. If no one sees what we have, no one will want it or ask for it. This also prevent thieves from stealing them.” She shrugged. “If a thief doesn’t see anything to steal, he can’t steal.”

“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast if from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:29

I don’t think we should keep everything we own locked up in a separate room to prevent people from wanting what we have. Nor do I think we should pluck out our eyes if they lead us to temptation. But perhaps we should seriously consider what tempts us and put those temptations out of sight.

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About celestecharlene

I served as a medical missionary in West Africa for thirty years treating the sick and establishing health clinics in rural neglected areas.

DREAMS

"Without a vision the people perish." Unless we have goals, desires or dreams, something to look forward to, we live a life of drudgery, just getting through each day.

Candy, my youngest sister visited me in Africa. She should have been at home in bed on oxygen. But coming to Africa was one of her dreams even while dying of breast cancer. She struggled to catch her breath and fight the pain throughout the days.

She had married young, had four children but returned to college and eventually obtained a masters degree in education. Candy counseled schoolchildren.

Sitting across from me in Africa, she smiled. "Next year I will travel to Europe. I plan to reach my goal of being a school principal in a couple of years."

But she passed away a few months later.

All the while she was on earth she made plans and pushed herself to reach for her dreams. Maybe that's why she battled cancer for many years in spite of the odds against her. She inspired me to keep hoping and dreaming.

Set objectives and aim for them, even if you're struggling to catch what could be your last breath. Because goals keep us focused and motivate us to press on. Without a vision we perish. I pray that the Lord will give you, goals and dreams to keep you inspired and serving Him.

Be a better Christian today, than you were yesterday, teach Sunday School, sing in the choir and join the visitation team. Save the world, one person at a time. Don't give up on your dreams. Be everything and do all that the Lord has for you.

CHOICES

“Choose life and not death!” II Kings 18:31

In the African village I always bought freshly baked French bread called “good bread.” Although it cost a bit more, a quarter, it was the most delicious of the three choices. If it was sold out, I purchased “salt bread,” similar to unsliced Wonder Bread. But the African people preferred “sugar bread,” and ate it like a sweet. I found it only good for French toast.

In the states I went into Wal-Mart to buy some groceries. Heading to the bread aisle, I stared at hundreds of loaves of bread, many more than I’d ever seen in one place at a time. I walked up and down the passageway four times, but had no idea what I should buy. Too many choices. I frowned, shook my head and left the bread aisle.

I headed to the meat department. Walking the length of the store several times, I felt the tears filling my eyes. Buying meat was so hard. Too many choices. Rounds, ribs, rumps, sides, backs and an entire section with a variety of steaks. Then I scanned ten different kinds of “minced meat.” Americans call it hamburger.

The Africans killed a cow near my village every Tuesday and whacked it in pieces with a machete. I selected the best looking piece or heap of sections that was available. There were few choices.

In the tiny European shop in Africa they sold only corn flakes and oatmeal. I bought oatmeal and made homemade granola bars, an easy choice.

There’s no right or wrong, which I thought was a simple choice. It may be fair, almost true or nearly accurate. Instead of wrong it may be a mistake, an error or incorrect.

Black things could be gray, dark brown or off black. And instead of white, they may be pasty, cream or off-white.

Instead of yes or no, people answer maybe, wait, if, I'll check my schedule, I'll get back to you or call me in a few days.

Thank God with Him there are only two choices. Life in Heaven with Jesus or Death in Hell with Satan. And that’s an easy choice.
Amen.

LIGHTS

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. Matthew 5:14-15

I had traveled all day and arrived in the city after dark. There were no taxis, and so I began the eight-mile trek through the African bush to my home. I had forgotten my flashlight and without a moon, hiking was a challenge.

Stepping as quietly as possible in the night, I walked into a large man. My lungs exploded in a blood-curdling scream. The terrified fellow dropped to the ground and shouted. “Please don’t hurt me. Don’t do anything to me."

My heart pounded, but he appeared just as afraid as I was. He broke the tension by proclaiming, “You white people are hard to see at night.”

We went our separate ways. I still needed a light even more than before I’d crashed into that fellow. To alert others who might be on the narrow pathway in the pitch dark, I prayed out loud in Jesus name over and over again.

The most perilous part of the journey was the last few miles before my house. The tall grasses along the trail obstructed the way. So I took smaller and slower steps to avoid pot holes, rocks and ravines while praying I’d find my house. Every fifty yards similar paths branched off the main trail to my home. It would be easy to wonder down one of them and keep walking all night. Never in my life had I ever needed a light as much as I did that night.

Lord please stop me from walking off the cliff. Help me avoid the river. Don’t let me lose my balance on top of the hill. Keep me from falling down the opposite side.

Suddenly there was light. Some girls carried a flashlight, a welcoming beam. At last I could see the way in front of me, the path to my house, sharp rocks on the ground, bushes, the faces of the children, mud huts, trees and animals.